Never Give Up Hope
by Pink Crane
Summary: Something to help deal with the end of "Turn, Turn, Turn". Skyeward, Fitzsimmons, and possible Philinda. (This cover was designed by my very talented sister.)
1. Never Give Up On Me

To help us get over the ending of 'Turn, Turn, Turn'...Some Skyeward goodness.

* * *

When Coulson told him Garrett was the man they had chased for months, the man who had shot Skye and caused the Fall of Shield...he wanted to punch something. As Coulson led him into a room just off the hallway, where the rest of the team waited. What Coulson said next made him do a double take, as the door clicked shut and they were alone.

"You want me to join HYDRA? They tried to kill Skye!"

"Which is why you are the best man for the job, she will be their next target, I need someone on the inside to protect her." He could see the reasoning behind the plan, but the thought of actually leaving her...

"I can't leave her, sir. She needs me...as much as I need her."

"You love her." It wasn't a question, Coulson seemed to know everything he had tried to keep hidden.

"How long have you know?" He asked, wondering if everyone saw through his attempts to stop his feelings.

"When we went after Dr. Hall, I suspected with how worried about her you were, then when Quinn shot her you turned on May even though you two had hooked up, I knew for sure."

"I couldn't risk hurting her, the effects of the staff...I wanted to have the comfort only she could offer." He was at a loss as to how to explain himself to Coulson, he hadn't put it into words what he felt for Skye at least not out loud. Coulson opened his mouth to speak but the door behind them opened, to reveal Skye. She seemingly ignored Coulson, walking directly to him and wrapping her arms around him. He kissed her hair, glad she had listened to him and stayed out of the fighting. If his arms tightened around her and made her look up at him, well with what he was about to do, who could blame him?

"I'm sorry about Garrett...I know he was a friend." Skye whispered to him, her brown eyes watching him with love. He didn't know why he hadn't noticed before, she often looked at him that way, his heart clenched at what he would have to do.

"Skye, there is something I want you to know...I love you." He told her, which caused her to tear up while she smiled at him.

"Grant, I love you too." She pulled him to her lips again, pressing her to his, a kiss that promised more. When Coulson cleared his throat,

"A.C. whats up?" Skype popped the 'p' and Coulson nodded at him.

"I have a mission, Skye." He said tentatively, she snapped her head back towards him.

"No!" Skye grabbed his arm and wrapped herself around him, like she could stop him from carrying out his orders, just by force of will.

"Skye, he is the only one who can get close enough to Garrett. We need him on the inside, to keep us one step ahead." Coulson explained, his tone soft and calm, she glared at him.

"It's not safe, he can't leave us." There was a panic seeping into her voice, which made him kiss her forehead, trying to reassure her.

"I'm the only one who can do it, you have to trust me to come back to you." He promised, Coulson seemed to think he was in the way, so he left them to talk to Agent Hand. Once he was gone, the door clicking behind him, then he lifted her into his arms. Gently setting her on the table, then kissing her roughly, which she responded to with her hands going around his neck. He closed the distance between his body and hers, stepping between her legs and running his hands down her back, to settle on her hips. She let out a breathy moan, that made him deepen the kiss, pressing her down on the table. She lifted her leg behind him, holding him in place as she broke the kiss, and kissed his neck.

"Skye...if we don't stop...I won't be able to." He whispered, his heart racing in his chest, she smirked at him.

"The robot losing control? What a shame.." She teased, until he lifted one hand to cup her breast, which caused her to gasp.

"I will come back, do you trust me?" He whispered to her, she nodded, tears in her eyes. The passion faded and she clung to him, and he clung to her. He knew she was the reason he would have to make it out of HYDRA, the only reason he hasn't put a bullet in Garrett yet.

"If you come back to me in less than perfect condition, I will use all my training to kick your ass. Grant, I love you. Please be safe." She pressed one last kiss to his lips, pouring everything she couldn't say into it. He kissed her forehead, before letting her lead him out of the room, a fake smile plastered on her face. Simmons watched her with concern, until he tucked Skye against his side.

"Finally." Fitz said, which had Simmons agreeing with him.

"I have to go meet with Coulson...take care of each other until I get back." He told them as he turned to leave, meeting Skye's eyes and telling her silently that no one else could know what he was going to do.

* * *

She hugged Jemma, fighting back the tears that threatened to fall, he had to come back to her. She couldn't live without him, it scared her to even think she might have to. She watched his retreating back and wanted to hunt down Garrett herself, she knew he would be forced to do unspeakable things, things that would cause him nightmares. May's eyes met hers and she nodded, even if Coulson thought May was untrustworthy, she knew better. As Fitz once again hugged Jemma, she walked over to May, holding out her hand. May took it,

"He's going undercover isn't he?" She whispered,

"Yes, but you aren't supposed to know...no one but Grant, Coulson and I are...but I trust you. So does Ward, even though everything that happened on the plane makes it seem like you betrayed us, I know you were protecting Coulson."

"At least you understand that." May said, sadness creeping into her voice.

"It will take time, he needs to handle one thing at a time. Besides I need a S.O. while Ward is gone." She said the words trying to brace herself for the lonely nights to come, May surprised them both by wrapping her arms around the younger girl. She bit her lip, controlling her emotions when Coulson returned saying Ward had elected to escort Garrett to The Fridge. She allowed them to help her back to the Bus, Triplett joining them.

"You can have Ward's room." Coulson offered, before she could stop him.

"He can have my bunk." She volunteered, "I'll move out my stuff and put it in Ward's room." She ignored the looks she knew they were directing her way, and walked ahead of them. Determined that she would be waiting for him when he returned home, that everything would be the same except she wouldn't leave his side.

(Should I continue? Or stop it as a one shot.)


	2. Reunited Part 1

Since the following people said they wanted me to continue, here is the next chapter for Trine, Salkri Kachemench, Idjkitten, shieldarrowspernatural, epicgeek32100, Ealasaid Una, AlmostSweaterWeather, Rikusprincess30, and both guest reviewers.

* * *

The first place they stopped after leaving the Hub was a remote base, where it was freezing and she had to bundle up in Ward's coat as well as hers. She was still shivering as she left the safety of the underground base, to trek back across the field to the parked Bus, she found May practicing with the punching bag. Unzipping the huge jacket, she laid it across the bench by the lab doors,

"You should be resting, you were up all night listening to the HYDRA feeds, he will be unhappy if he finds out." May teased, never taking her eyes off the punching bag.

"I can't sleep yet, he hasn't checked in." She tried to sound positive and not show how much it was affecting her that he hadn't checked in for the last week and a half. Coulson kept telling her to be patient, Ward would check in when he could, but the feeling that he was in trouble and needed her help wouldn't leave her alone. May's punching stopped and she looked up at the older woman, as May sat next to her, silently offering her comfort. The silence that used to make her nervous and antsy, now comforted her, she just wished he was here to share it with her.

"He's good at what he does, besides he promised you that he would come home to you." May reminded her, unwrapping her hands and flexing her fingers. She thought of the changes that had been occuring since the fall of SHIELD, FitzSimmons were officially a couple now, having decided that life was too short for them to wait. The rules were bent, although since everyone was scattered across the world, she didn't feel like it mattered what rules they broke. May and Coulson were finally rebuilding their relationship, she had noticed more then one longing glance between them, and she sometimes wished that Grant was there to see them with her.

"Thank You, I just wish he was here. Not that I don't love having you as my SO, but..." She trailed off, losing her train of thought as she remembered the first time she had training with him. She had been so upset about being woke up at 5 am.

"You miss him, we all do." May said understandingly, before she looked up in surprise, a smile on her lips. "Skye, there is a visitor here for you."

"If it's the guy from Tech...I'm not here." She muttered without looking up, that guy was persistent and seemed to think she was available no matter what she said to the contrary.

"I hope I don't have any reason to be jealous." She looked up quickly, hope growing with every second until she saw him, walking up the ramp, his coat covered in snow. She ran to him, meeting him by Lola and he picked her up. She didn't care that her clothes were getting soaked, he was here alive and safe. She pushed his hood off, fingers tracing his face, noticing the new scar near his ear.

"You're back." She whispered, seeing May disappear upstairs with a smile. His hands were warm on her hips as he lowered her back to the ground.

"I told you I would come back." He reminded her, a smile on his lips, she pulled him closer and kissed him. She finally felt the weight on her heart, that had grown each day he had been gone, disappear. She couldn't help clinging to him, she had been so afraid he wouldn't make it back home to her, his mouth was rough on hers. She gave herself over to him, revealing in the way he made her feel.

"I wasn't worried." She lied, he stopped and meeting her eyes. There was a knowing look in his eyes, that sent a shiver through her body.

"Really? That's not what I heard, two little birds told me you were out here, waiting to hear that I was ready for extraction. In between training with May, and playing matchmaker." He teased, his lips moving to her neck, peppering kisses along her neck, causing her to let out a moan. It was then that she remembered that he was still wearing his soaked clothes, she slapped him and grabbed his arm, guiding him upstairs.

* * *

He followed her without complaint, not surprised when she led him to his room, everything was still inside there just as he had left it, but there was something different about it. He didn't notice it right away, until he saw her hula girl sitting on his dresser and then he picked out the little changes. Her clothes were next to his, her pillows tossed on his bed, and her laptop rested on the bed.

"Sorry, I just didn't want anyone in your room. Figured it was easier to move my stuff in rather than move yours out. Makes the adjustments easier, I'll just leave you to get settled in..." Skye turned to leave and he pulled her back, wrapping his arms around her as he kissed her. She ran her hands through his hair, then one hand tugged his shirt up over his head, he groaned at the touch of her hand on his chest. He had dreamed about her every night while he had been gone, praying she was safe and that she was still waiting for him. Finding her waiting for him, still in love with him, it was more than he had hoped for. He would be lying if he said he wasn't dreading briefing where he would have to tell them everything he had been forced to do, at least he wasn't due back for the next two days, having been sent to check out sightings of some missing HYDRA agents. Which he had taken out himself when he found them stalking around the Bus. Skye pushed him back onto the bed, he pulled her down on top of him, he loved the sounds she made when he ran his hands up her sides. He unbuttoned her shirt and pushed it off her shoulders, taking in the sight of her purple bra and the breasts he had been fond of since their first meeting.

"Beautiful, you are amazing Skye." He muttered as he caressed her stomach, taking care to trace the bullets scars. She was blushing and he leaned up to kiss her neck.

"Not bad either, Grant." She teased as she ran her hands over his abs and tugged at his belt. There was a knock that made her groan and pull her shirt back up,

"Yes?!" She yelled and he sat up, kissing her shoulders and wrapping one arm around her waist, pulling her back flush against him. So she could see how much he desired her,

"Coulson needs us in the Briefing room in three minutes." Jemma's voice came through the closed-door and there was a shuffling and Fitz joined her.

"Did Ward find you?" Fitz asked,

"Yes. He is around here somewhere, I'll find him and meet you guys in there." She managed to say as he reached his hands up to cup her breasts, she slapped his hands shooting him a look that clearly said 'knock it off'.

"Alright see you in a few." The footsteps faded and he sighed, they were always being interrupted. She turned in his arms and stuck one hand in his back pocket,

"Not fair," She pouted, he wanted to kiss that pout right off her lips.

"So impatient, I promise we will finish this later." He kissed her again before buttoning her shirt for her. She shot him a naughty look and licked her bottom lip, then she walked over and pulled out a shirt for him to wear. He watched her cross the room and confidently select his shirt,

"I like this one on you." She handed him his black work out shirt, with a wink. He obliged her, pulling it down to which she sighed.

"Let's get this over with." He said, dreading it even more now that it was time. She lifted his arm and put one of hers around his hip, before unlocking the door. They walked out together, meeting the others just as Coulson joined them, he nodded towards him.

"Welcome back Agent Ward, now what I am about to say doesn't leave this room. First I want to introduce you to two very important allies. Clint Barton and Natasha Romanov."

"Hawkeye and Black Widow?" Jemma asked meeting Fitz's excited look. He cringed, knowing that if they came across him during a mission to take out HYDRA, he'd end up dead. The moment they entered the room, Clint's gaze locked on him, he saw Skye move between them as Clint crossed the room.

"Avenger or not...I will take you down." Skye threatened, her tone and posture cold. Natasha laughed,

"Oh Phil, I like her. Relax we aren't here for your boyfriend."

"Good." Skye said, leaning back but keeping her eyes on Clint.

"Back to business. As some of you know, Ward has been undercover in HYDRA since the fall of the HUB. He has gathered intel that can help us take them down for good, however he has to go back to discover the real heads of HYDRA command."

"Skye," May started, but she shook her head.

"I knew he wasn't done yet." Skye admitted, closing her eyes to block the tears. Clint's gaze softened and Natasha looked uncomfortable, Coulson continued, and he offered Skye the comfort he could. He didn't want to leave her, it was even harder this time, he knew he would be gone even longer then the first time.

"This time, however he is going to have to make tougher choices, as you know Agent Hand was declared dead at the scene, however she has made a full recovery and is with Deputy Director Hill. Once we leave this base, HYDRA will invade and most of them will be blow to pieces. Our next stop is New York, where we will meet with Director Fury and stay until we have more intelligence from Ward."

* * *

(Poor Skyeward, can't get a moment to release all that tension...next episode starts in two hours..Fingers crossed that it doesn't break our hearts.)


	3. Keeping A Promise

So after last night...well I am still holding out on Skye saving him...but I'm not changing the way my story is playing out. So for now Skyeward is still full speed ahead. Enjoy!

* * *

She was not comfortable with the way Barton kept eyeing Grant, she was about to say something when he pulled her back.

"No, don't do it." Grant whispered into her ear, causing her to shiver.

"He looks like he wants to hurt you, I just got you back. Besides the only one allowed to hurt you is me." She teased, turning to face him, he was looking at her and it sent a familiar feeling of desire through her.

"I'm going to shower." He whispered, she saw the gleam and headed off to their room. They silently gathered their clothes, not touching, she could feel the tension in the room. They walked to the bathroom together, walking in and locking the door behind them. She met his eyes, feeling like she was going to explode if he didn't kiss her.

"Turn on the shower." She told him, he obliged and she pulled his shirt over his head, running her hands across his back. He turned and unbuttoned her shirt, then pushed it off her shoulders. She bit her lip and waited for him to make the next move, he bent to kiss her. Pulling her closer to him, until there was no space between their bodies. She had never felt so alive as she did now, when his mouth moved to her neck, she nearly lost her balance. He fixed that by lifting her with one arm onto the counter and moving his kisses to her collarbone. She pulled his head back up to crush her mouth to his, unbuttoning his pants with one hand, as his hand moved to her belt. There was a tearing sound as he ripped the button off her jeans, she laughed when there was a deep growl in his throat, she pushed him back and slipped her shoes and jeans off. He watched her with lust filled eyes and she forced his jeans down. A smile formed as she felt his eyes on her body, wearing only her purple bra and matching boyshorts, she felt like she was on fire. Her eyes traced his body, causing her to nearly groan at the sight of him, he was certainly what she had been expecting. He drew her back to him and kissed her again, their bodies touching bare skin to bare skin, she didn't know how she managed to stand up and he devoured her mouth...

* * *

He watched her as she held up the jeans he had destroyed in his haste to rip her clothes off, an amused look on her face.

"I regret nothing." He told her, a smile on his face. They had both showered after they had finished having sex, he had told her it made it more believeable that they had been gone for more then an hour if they actually showered. She had sugested that they just skip the shower and return to their room, it had taken every bit of self-control to not agree when she dropped the towel and arched one eyebrow. He had had sex with different women in his past, but he had never felt the desire to hold any of them after, it was usually just to release the stress. With Skye, his Skye, he wanted to offer her the world and more.

"I am going to have to hide them, Simmons is on laundry this week and I don't need me asking why they are ripped down the front."

" You could let me tell them I ripped them off you when we had sex in the bathroom." He offered, she laughed and kissed him.

"I don't think we want Coulson killing you, I certainly would be upset if my boyfriend was taken out because he told our boss and he felt it was his duty to be father like."

"I can take him," He promised, hanging their towels to dry. She groaned as she looked at her shoulders,

"I can't wear tank tops until these fade." She pouted,

"At least Triplett will keep his eyes off you now, he seems to have taken a liking to you." He tried not to sound jealous and failed by the look on her face.

"Actually he has his eyes on a rookie in tech, pretty blonde girl and she shares a smiliar background to his. Plus they love to watch America's Funniest Home Videos together."

"So hes over Simmons?"

"Fitz made it clear that she was his girl." Before he could ask how that had happened there was a knock on the bathroom door.

"Ward? Have you seen Skye? She said she was training with you." May's voice made them both stop,

"She was downstairs. I'll be right out to find her." He told her, until Skye hit the button to open the door. May raised her eyebrows and looked at him.

"So this happened, and Coulson can not know about it." Skye said, leaning into his arms. May nodded her agreement and moved to let them leave the bathroom. The hallway was tiny so they walked into the livingroom and sat in the chairs surrounding the table. May's eyes were filled with warmth when she looked at Skye,

"You take care of my girl, or I will make you suffer." May threatened with a smile.

"You know I will."

"Someone care to tell me why Barton has it out for Ward?" Triplett's voice questioned as he came up the stairs,

"Maybe he has seen him undercover."

"No he's just paranoid." Natasha said as she came around the corner. Skye laughed, tucking herself into his arms, he was enjoying the moment until his phone rang in his pocket. Skye tensed next to him, the moment was broken, he took it out answering it.

**"Ward, your girl encrypted the hard drive." **His eyes met Skye's,

"What do you mean she encrypted it?" He asked carefully.

**"What I mean is Romeo, you are gonna need to get in contact with your girl. Tell her you managed to escape from The Fridge, where I got away and shot Hand, tell her it's fallen. Seduce her, do whatever it takes Ward. I'm giving you twenty-four hours to get that password, or I'm coming to find her."**

"I'll get the password. If you come it'll blow my cover."

**"Well if you don't our deal is off, the girl will become free game."**

"You said she would be safe, if I followed orders. You would keep her safe." He was clutching the phone so tightly it was cracking, Skye was beside him, offering comfort.

**"Twenty-four hours, Grant. I better hear from you." **The phone call ended. There was anger and worry on all the faces in the room. Everything was about to blow up in their faces...

* * *

(So after last night, my heart broke and I wasn't able to type anything. Here is something to keep our Skyeward ship sailing until they fix this.)


	4. Sometimes You Just Need To Know I'm Here

So in light of what happened tonight...I will just keep this story as a hopeful beacon to all Skyeward fans and fans that love Grant Ward like we do. Two episodes left and I honestly have no idea what to think...anyway on with the Skyeward!

* * *

The silence was starting to wear on her, they seemed to forget how to speak until she broke the silence, bringing everyone's eyes to her.

"So what do we do now?" She asked, leaning against Grant. Coulson looked at her, his eyes meeting Ward's over her shoulder.

"Well first," Barton said from the door leading to the conference room, which had her jumping slightly in shock. "We contact Stark and see if he can trace Garrett and find out where he is."

"I can tell you where he was when I left," Grant said quickly, Barton's glare turned towards him again. She moved from Grant's side and stood in front of Barton, her finger in his face.

"Look I get that you are like, some badass superhero, but my SO is not the enemy. He is a good man, who will do whatever it takes to protect his family, our family. So either back off him, or get off our Bus, we should be working together not fighting becase you have a problem." She took a calming breath and waited expectantly for him to say something. The rest of her team was sitting there in amused silence, when Barton finally spoke she could hear his new found respect for her.

"Alright, I will take your word for it. Coulson, you were right."

"I told you, we take care of our own, you should hear what they got up to when Ward and Fitz were sent on a misson. May and I left them alone, thinking that without the boys to help them cause trouble, they would be fine."

"Instead, Jemma and Skye hacked the SHIELD computers to find out where the boys were, but not before Jemma shot Agent Sitwell with the NightNight gun." May continued, a proud smile on her face.

"In our defense, there was no extraction plan, we had to do something. So we got May to help us, everything turned out alright in the end." Jemma explained, her hand intertwined with Fitz's.

"You hacked SHIELD?" Natasha asked, an undecernable look on her face.

"It was our team, no one messes with our team." Skye said, crossing her arms and daring someone to argue about the moral questions.

"She can't meet Stark." Barton said, looking at Coulson and May. "Can you imagine those two in the same building?"

"Skye will be on her best behavior, right?" Coulson asked, a smile on his face. She crossed her fingers behind her back and nodded, the sudden shaking had them all turning around.

"May, Ward find out whats going on!" Coulson ordered, May and Grant ran in opposite directions, May to the front of the plane and Grant to the back. She watched him with worry in her eyes, before taking charge and making her way to the conference room.

"I've got the systems check, FitzSimmons?" She stopped and waited for them,

"With you." They said together, walking around Barton and Natasha and taking up their sides of the holotable. There was a crash and she dropped her tablet, running past the two Avengers. She didn't think that maybe it could be nothing, Grant was down there alone and HYDRA could be anywhere. She rushed down the stairs and saw Grant holding his side, where he had assured her it was nothing.

"Grant Douglas Ward, did you lie to me?" She asked in her best mom voice, earning a chuckle from him. She heard Coulson let out a sigh of relief, before turning the rest of the team back.

"False alarm. Everything's fine." Coulson told them, there was a rumble of footsteps before they were alone.

"So that's embarrassing." Grant quipped, she looked at him in shock, touching his forehead.

"Maybe Simmons should check you over, my SO doesn't make jokes." She teased, pressing her lips to the cut that was healing. "You want to tell me, why Garrett did this to you?"

"To sell what he thinks is my cover, if I had escaped the Fridge...there would be cuts, bruises, the usual."

"I am going to kill him, you do know that right?" She asked, using her hand to tilt his face up, she could still see the haunted, lost boy he used to be. There were parts of him that Garrett had molded, to make his perfect soldier, but her Grant was in there. The fact that Garrett had used Grant's most painful memories, to hurt him and change him...she couldn't fight the drive to destroy him.

"Skye..." He started, his expression torn, she shook her head defiantly.

"NO! He doesn't get to do this to you, I am not letting him win. You are stronger then he is, a better man, what happened...you were just a little boy. It isn't your fault, you were the victim, blame your brother or your parents." She stopped kissing his forehead gently, before looking into his eyes. "It hurts me to see you in pain, when this is over, how about we pay Gramsy a visit?"

His eyes lit up at the mention of his grandmother, she sighed inwardly when his mask fell into place.

"We can't, HYDRA and SHIELD will be looking for me going there."

"Lucky for us, I know this agent who is really good at blending in, he could get us in." She told him with a smile, before she helped him into the Lab. When he attempted to protest, she looked at him, before pressing the intercom and asking Simmons to come down. While they waited, he seemed to have a plan to distract her. She was startled when he pulled her flush against him and devoured her mouth, his hands moving to grip her hips, to hold her in place. She felt her heart race and one hand on his chest, told her his was racing too. A subtle cough from behind them, made them break apart, like children with their hands in a cookie jar.

"Simmons." Grant said moving to leave the lab, however Jemma suddenly became commanding and stood between him and the exit.

"Ward, sit down now." Jemma ordered, Ward looked at her in shock before sitting. She couldn't help the smile on her face as she watched her boyfriend and sister bonding, the sound of the machines shutting down made her look up waiting.

"Two broken ribs, a fracture along his shoulder, right here." Jemma pointed and ignored the disgruntled look Ward was giving them both.

"So how much bedrest?" She asked, wanting to know how soon he would be back to himself.

"At least a week, I would suggest it start now, perhaps some movies in your pod. Unless you would prefer the crowded base?"

"Our room will be just fine, thanks Jemma." Grant said, pulling his shirt back on. To Jemma's surprise, he kissed her forehead affectionately.

"Anytime Grant." Jemma replied as she turned to clean up her supplies.

"Thanks again, Jemma. See you at dinner?" She asked as she followed Grant out of the lab.

"Yes, we should have a team meal here on the Bus."

"I will talk to Coulson." She promised, following him up to their pod, where she settled into the bed next to him.

"Get some sleep Rookie." He ordered teasingly,

"Only if you do first." She retorted before pressing a soft kiss to his shoulder.

* * *

(So after tonight...I wanted to end with some fluffy Skyeward moments. Before settling on this one, I'm wondering who else's point of view you guys woulds like to see. If you have any favorites, leave it in a review. Thank You.)


	5. Returning Faces

So I hear Damon-girl96 and copodenieve10 want Clint and Natasha's POV, maybe even May's...well here you go enjoy.

* * *

He didn't like that Phil had sent one of his team undercover, especially since the man in question was the former rookie of the Clairvoyant. Experience taught him that even the strongest agent could be turned against his allies. The memory of Loki's control over him, caused him to grimace, which of course Natasha noticed as she sat next to him. The rest of Phil's team had split off in their own pursuits and with a resigned manner, Phil had left to complete his long overdue paperwork. He looked at his partner and she met his gaze with one of her own, her eyebrow arched in a silent question.

"He's alive, Nat." He said, shaking his head in disbelief.

"That's a good thing, we actually like Phil remember?" Natasha offered, her hand running through her long red hair, she always did that when she was frustrated. He put his hand over hers, interlocking their fingers.

"I'm glad you are here, with me and safe." He whispered, she pulled back, like she did whenever they got close to talking about something that didn't have anything to do with a mission.

"So Agent Ward and Skye, that could be a problem, we both know how emotions get in the way." She told him, avoiding the hurt he knew she would see if she bothered to look.

"Seems like she has his back, I don't like Phil sending him in, we both know that even great agents can be manipulated. Her heart might make her an easier target if he turns."

"Clint," Natasha started, her tone apologetic.

"They will be fine." May's voice came from the hallway near the cockpit. "You haven't seen what he will do to protect her and what she will do for him." May said as she came to stand in front of them, her face the perfect mask of indifference,

"Melinda." He said standing to hug her, she returned the hug without a fight, for once. "You sound like you have been watching them, playing matchmaker?"

"No, it's hard to miss when you live on the same plane as them."

"Tell me about them." Natasha said, sitting back down, but further then she had been sitting originally. Melinda's lips curved into a smile,

"He volunteered to become her SO, but from the moment they brought her here, there was a spark. You could see it if you knew what to look for, she would complain about training and he would push her harder. We sent her in on our third mission as a team, to help us by bringing down a forcefield, she had barely any training...she managed to win over Ian Quinn and trick him into talking long enough for her to get the forcefield down. She had to run afterward, Ward went looking for her, she was surrounded by five large men. He took them out, without a second thought, that night they were training and she finally committed to it. Quinn shot her, twice and we nearly lost her, they have been nearly attached to each other since."

"Why do I think there is more to their story?" He asked, May's lips thinned and her voice changed, it became harder.

"Garrett is the one who ordered her to be shot, Grant hasn't forgotten that, he is out for blood."

"Thats a dangerous combo, Melinda." Natasha reminded her, "We can't let our emotions get the best of us, it can endanger the mission."

"You know it's not nice to talk about us when we can't defend ourselves." Skye's voice came from the door of the bunk, she was alone, no sign of Ward. The way she looked at him, he wondered if she considered him the enemy, he wouldn't blame her if she did.

"Skye, they were curious about you and Ward...I didn't give them any details they wouldn't find in the reports, other then to say that you are both loyal to the cause." Melinda's voice softened when she talked to the younger woman, to his surprise as well as Natasha's, Skye crossed the room and wrapped Melinda in a hug.

"I know, he's finally resting. Garrett broke two of his ribs, and fractured part of his shoulder, I will kill him." Skye told Melinda, who smiled at her affectionately.

"I'll help you, no one hurts one of us." There was the steel he was used to hearing in Melinda's voice, he noticed that it wasn't there when she spoke gently to Skye. What kind of relationship did they have, he wasn't used to seeing her that way, it had been a long time.

"He tried to turn him against us...using his past, he doesn't want to leave us and I don't want him to." There was silence and suddenly,

"SKYE!" Ward appeared from the bunk, his face one of panic and terror. Skye was moving before he could call her name again. Her fingers on his face,

"I'm here, Grant look at me." He could hear her, even from where he was sitting. He saw the relief on Ward's face and looked away when they kissed, Melinda's laughter filling the silence.

"Clint, are you uncomfortable with a little PDA?" Melinda teased, drawing all the attention to him. Natasha and her exchanged looks and he found himself pinned between them. Each of them smiling evilly at him,

"Nope." He retorted, just before they pecked a kiss on his cheeks. The sound of footsteps brought their attention to Phil who was glaring at his specialist who was pulling the hacker closer as they continued to devour each other.

"Mel, can you handle that? Please?" Phil was looking away from the young couple, obviously not wanting to see the two of them in that position. Skye's laughter filled the room,

"It's alright dad,we're done." Grant opened his arms as Skye leaned into them, Phil offered them an amused smile. Clint raised his eyebrow at the exchange, what had they missed since he had been back from the dead. There was a family dynamic that he hadn't seen since they were last all together, before New York, before they all saw him die. He didn't miss Mel's look at both the two younger agents and Phil, he couldn't wait to get her alone and question her about it.

"I only ask you keep from making out with my daughter in front of me, or anywhere I might walk in on it."

"Yes, Sir." There was a soft smile on his lips, the haunted look faded slightly, he knew that look...it was one of having to make choices that changed you. He felt Skye's eyes on him, an unreadable look in her eyes, her lips twitched in the flicker of a smile.

"Agent Barton? Do I have something on my face?" There was a flicker on lights and a familiar song filled the air, from the speakers.

"Agent Coulson, did you miss me?" Tony Stark's voice filled the Bus, there was a flicker of annoyance in Natasha's eyes before the man in question strutted into the Bus and looked around, "You have a bar and you didn't invite me." There was a surprised look from the two scientists who were coming upstairs from the lab.

"That's Tony Stark." Fitz said excitedly, holding Simmons's arm.

"He's a genius, Fitz." Simmons reminded him, before Skye greeted him from her spot in Ward's arms.

"Tony." She said simply,

"Hacker." Tony replied, before shocking everyone by hugging Phil and they turned away from the scene.

* * *

She felt Grant's arms tighten around her, he was still shaking inwardly, she felt his soft kiss against her hair. She traced lines across his palms, reminding him that she was there and she wasn't leaving him. She could feel the tension in the room, she knew bringing in allies was the best plan they had, but the overload of feelings in the room. She hadn't figured out what she could do, the older team would have to heal together, with that thought in mind she pulled Grant and Fitzsimmons downstairs to the lab. She felt Barton's eyes on them, and ignored the unnerving feeling, Grant walked behind her his hand on her back. The moment they were downstairs, she let out a sigh of relief, which resulted in Grant pulling her to him. His hands were on her waist, just before he kissed her deeply earning a moan from her throat. She forgot that Fitzsimmons was there, her hands threading through his hair, as he pressed her against the wall. They were lost in each other, his hand moving to her waist again. When she heard the sound of a gunshot, coming from the base, Grant pressed her behind him.

"Jemma, get May." He ordered, she hit the intercom button and leaned into it.

"We have hostiles...at the base. We're going, meet us there." She pulled out her gun, meeting Grant's eyes.

"Jemma, Leo get the dwarfs online and get them inside."

"What are you two going to do?" Fitz asked,

"Cut off some heads...burn the stumps." She said, her voice menacing and Grant followed her down the ramp. They had their weapons drawn, she smelled the scent of death, without a sound they entered the building. She took out two HYDRA agents, before they could turn around, Grant shot the other three in the room. There were a few cadets in the corner, she gestured to them to hide in a the closet, which she locked from the outside. Pulling out the keys she tossed them to Grant. There was more shouting from the hallway leading to Eric's office, she followed him guns drawn...

* * *

(Yes a cliffhanger...I love you all but I'm writing this at 1am. So please read and review.)


	6. Always Remember

Just so you know, I won't let Ward get hurt...I'm sort of excited by the new episodes trailers and the artwork I've seen. Maybe Skye's powers show up in the next episode? Anyway back to the drama unfolding in this story. Also Italics are memories of the past...Enjoy...

* * *

He had his gun out, having discarded the ICER the moment they had met the HYDRA agents in the main hall, Skye had surprised him by taking out two without blinking. Her expression one of rage and anger, once the young cadets were locked in the closet, she had tossed him the keys.

"Still haven't taught me how to hold up under torture." She quipped, as they followed the sounds of a fight to Eric's office. He let out a sigh of relief as they saw May was already there, having taken down the four agents in the room. Skye's growl made him look around the room, his heart fell, Garrett was sitting there like he belonged there. Skye took a step towards him, her gun pointed at his forehead.

"You bastard." Skye spat, May shook her head at them.

"Don't, we need the information only he can give us." May reminded them, pulling Skye back from him.

"Tracked you here Romeo, knew you couldn't be far from Juliet over there." Garrett said, clearly amused, even though he was captured. It caused unease in his stomach, clearly May felt the same, they exchanged silent looks trying to decided what to do next. While they were distracted, Skye raised her gun and shot Garrett right at his knees, causing his to cry out as the bullet went through his kneecap.

"Dammit!" Garrett said, glaring at Skye.

"That's for what you did to Grant. You sick, demented, bastard." The tone of her voice, made him pull her back, away from Garrett.

"Skye, look at me." He whispered, pressing his lips to her forehead. He wanted to keep her safe, in his arms, his words to her while they had been alone ringing in his ears.

_"I want to stay here with you, pretend that the outside world doesn't exist."_

There was a moment when he pushed her behind him, until the sight of Coulson made him relax. He was followed by Natasha and Clint, who looked confused as they took in the sight before them.

"Who shot him?" Coulson asked, looking at May.

"Skye." May replied, trying to keep the proud look off her face.

"She shot him?" Clint asked, looking at them again, sharing a look with Natasha, who nodded. They both moved to help May, escort Garrett to the containment room. Coulson looked at them, eyeing his team,

"I'm proud of you both, why don't you two do the run into town for us? I'm sure there will be something for you two to enjoy privately."

Skye opened her mouth and Coulson held up a hand,

"I meant dinner and a movie, I do not want to hear about your...exploits." Coulson shuddered and Skye's lips curved into a smile.

"Like the one I walked in on the other day? Between you and May?"

"That is something we agreed not to speak of, remember?" Coulson reminded her, a gleam in his eyes, Skye broke eye contact first.

"By the way, Movie Night...it's a Lion King marathon." Coulson rolled his eyes, before he left them alone. He led her out of the room, his hand searching out hers, and the look on her face reminded him for the day they had talked in her pod after she woke up.

_"I will never forgive him for not protecting you." He promised her,_

_"Grant," She said, her gaze soft._

_"No, I wasn't there to protect you...I'm sorry." He looked so defeated, he wouldn't meet her eyes._

_"It's not your fault, I chose to go in there." She reminded him, he looked at her then, anger in his eyes...and something else._

_"Why? Do you know what that did to the team?" He asked harshly, knowing she was alive made the terror he was living in dissipate, but there was anger at her for going in alone and nearly dying.  
_

_"I already said I know it was stupid." She admitted not meeting his eyes._

_"Do you know how I felt knowing you could die? That I failed to be there to stop those bullets? Seeing you looking like Fucking Snow White, laying there in the chamber, knowing I was helpless to help you."_

"Penny for your thoughts?" Skye asked, her eyes searching his, he lifted their entwined hands and kiss her knuckles.

"Remembering some of our past, Snow White." He teased, she smiled at him, pulling him closer to her.

"Whatever you say, Prince Charming." She retorted, pressing her lips to his. His laugh was stopped by her lips and after deepening the kiss, he pulled back.

"We have to get back, grab the keys to the SUV and go on a trip." He reminded her, she winked at him, causing him to groan as she licked her lips. She really would be the death of him.

* * *

So there is the end of this chapter, next one will feature Natasha and Clint handling Garrett. Plus some more interrupted moments not just between Skyeward, some Fitzsimmons, May/Coulson, and of course Clintasha. :) As always Read & Review.


	7. A Moment of Peace

First up Natasha, she has a special bone to pick with him. Then, I will have a little Mayson for us. Enjoy.

* * *

She flung him into the room, smiling in satisfaction as he hit the table, Clint following her inside. The sound of the door locking made Garrett's face freeze as he looked at them, Clint let out a low chuckle that would have made anyone's blood grow cold.

"So the Widow and Hawkeye, bet Fury is rolling over in his grave, seeing his organization fall." Garrett spat, as he pulled himself into a chair. She watched him, her eyes taking in the way he couldn't move his left leg at all, the young hacker seemed to have shot him in just the right place. She had to admit she was impressed with Phil's new team, she had seen the way they worked together, followed up on everything they had done since the moment she had been told by Thor that Lady Sif had worked with their former Handler. She had fought to restrain both Tony and Steve from marching into Fury's office to demand an explaination, the knowledge that he was alive had to be enough for now, Clint had followed the paper trail to dig everything up on Phil's current team. Agents May and Ward were the first two recruited, the shock she had felt as Clint had told her that Melinda had left desk duty to pilot Phil's plane, had made her silent and thoughtful. Which Tony had remarked on, until she threatened to face him in the ring, but hearing that she was the woman before the Cellist had changed his tune.

"Highly unlikely since he's not dead." Clint responded coldly, moving to stand next to her.

"I know the Winter Soldier killed him." Garrett said, his composure returning and she smiled at him.

"You mean Buckey Barnes? Captain America's best friend and ally? I met him, a little messed up, but guess what he's still loyal to Steve." She saw the flicker of irritation and anger as he proccessed the information, before he grinned at them evilly.

"So Fury lived, slippery as a snake, as always."

"So Ward was your play?" Clint asked, she looked at him in amusement. She watched his eyes narrow at the mention of the his former rookie,

"He was the perfect soldier, obeyed every order I gave him, then I sent him to Coulson's team to report back to me. Everything was working to my advantage until Coulson brought that little hacker onto the team. She slipped in and undid almost ten years of hard work, he fell for her and wanted to protect her. So I ordered Quinn to shoot her, kill her and figured that would be the end of it. But they saved her, so I had to go in and play nice, I saw how much he loved her. It sickened me, so I figured I would wait and kill her when I had the chance. Then, Tori had to send drones after me, which made me follow Coulson into battle. Thankfully that Bitch is dead." Garrett's sneer made her arch one brow,

"Victoria Hand?"

"Yes, Grant killed her in cold blood. Because no matter what little Skye does, he is still my soldier." Garrett sounded so sure of himself and she knew that Clint was going to enjoy telling him what really happened.

"Oh you have been played. Agent Hand is alive and well, did you check that she was really dead?" Clint asked, looking him in the eye, the expression on his face was comical. She would have laughed had they not needed the information from him, instead she stepped up behind him and slammed his head into the table. He let out a curse as he sat up, his nose bloody.

"It will take more then that, Tasha." Garrett spit the blood out onto the table. She smiled at him, she was going to enjoy beating the information out of him.

* * *

She was waiting when Phil returned, he was shaking his head, he sat next to her on the couch in his office. She waited for him, to tell her what amused him.

"Her and Grant were kissing again. She shot Garrett and went right back to kissing him, then she teased me about finding us yesterday."

"She is our girl, Phil. Besides, give them some time he's been gone for over a week. They are trying to be together in the middle of all this crazy. She trained hard while he was gone, to keep her mind off him being gone, plus there is a guy from Tech that wouldn't take no for an answer." She reminded him, he took her hand and she leaned into him. With him it was easy to be herself, to let that mask fall and forget all the terrible things she had done. They had fallen back into old habits, they were hardly apart now, she almost could pretend that they were still married. She heard the chatter downstairs, knowing that at least Skye and Grant were there to keep everyone from wrecking their home.

"So now that we have him, how long until Tasha breaks him?" He asked her, she shook her head.

"Both her and Clint are breaking him, it won't take long."

"I still can't believe she shot him, she was so calm and collected about it. She reminded me of you, Mel." Before she could respond, there was a crash from downstairs and they both moved to go downstairs. She laughed at the look on Fitz's face, he was covered in what looked like baking powder and glaring at Tony. Jemma and Skye were wearing matching looks of shock, Grant was watching in amusement.

"I am not cleaning that up." She told them, Grant raised his hand in agreement.

"What happened?"

"Stark asked about the prank war...Fitz told him and then we went to gather food for movie night...well that gave him enough time to prank Fitz." Skye told her, walking back over to Fitz with a towel. Simmons moved to his side and helped him clean his face, there was a sound of something hitting the wall of the interrogation room and a smile flitted across the faces of all the ladies in the room. There was silence, before Skye asked where Phil was.

"I'm coming, relax. I haven't ever missed a movie night." Phil's voice came from behind her and she moved further into the room.

"Once you did, Dad." Skye reminded him, there was a flicker of sadness across the faces of everyone, Grant moved closer to Skye wrapping his arms around her.

"So The Lion King?" Tony asked, breaking the tension.

"Skye and Jemma always pick Disney movies." Fitz said, Grant laughed and gave him a level look. "Fine, I happen to like Disney movies. What's wrong with that?"

"That's why you call those robots Dwarfs...makes sense now." Clint said as he entered the room, she glanced at his hands which were clear of blood.

"Passed out, that needle Simmons gave us, it works fast." He answered her question before she could voice it,

"I think we should develop that into bullet form, that would make taking the bad guys out so..." Jemma said, before Fitz cut in.

"Much easier and cut down on injuries to teams sent in." Fitz finished proudly.

"Shop talk over, movie night as soon as Natasha gets out here." Skye pointed to the couches, before settling next to Grant in the reclining chair. They all sat down passing around the food and drinks, when Nat did return, she settled into Clint's side and put her feet up. The familiar setting, plus Phil's arm around her, set her at ease. She knew Garrett would be dealt with in the morning, he'd be out until then, the plane was on autopilot and they had nothing but open oceans under them. Feeling Phil's lips against her hair, she closed her eyes and listened to her family as they watched the movie.

* * *

(Sorry it's so late, lost internet because some one (stepfather) was cutting the grass and cut our cables with the trimmer...anyway I should have the next chapter up soon. I'm also still reeling from this last episode, anyone else feel like crying when Garrett told him to shoot Buddy?)


	8. Reuniting A Team

Here is chapter 8, thanks so much to all of my reviewers. Here is the next chapter for all of you.

* * *

She prided herself on being logical and understanding anything and everything. However trying to explain how the shower had gotten backed up, from a button of all things, she wondered where it had come from. None of the clothes she had gathered this week had been missing buttons, it wasn't a tiny shirt button either, it was one that would be found on jeans or heavier fabrics. She handed the button to Fitz who let out a laugh that made her jump a bit, it was usually so quiet in their lab.

"Fitz, do you know where it came from?" She was really not bothered by it, except she would have liked to know how it ended up in the shower drain.

"Jemma, you have been on laundry duty all week. Anything missing that should have been in the laundry?" He was teasing her and she narrowed her eyes at him,

"Fitz, tell me what you know." She decided to change tactics, using what Skye called 'her female superpowers', meaning that she really was just flirting with Fitz. She actually enjoyed his face as he looked at her, he looked so nervous.

"Skye and Ward, they were gone for at least a hour and a half yesterday, she isn't wearing her beloved jeans is she?" Fitz said, she blushed as what had likely happened occured to her,

"The shower?"

"Yes, Skye told me that we should try the lab." Fitz said abesntly as he checked the circuits in Sleepy, she leaned against him, pressing her lips against his neck.

"I'm sure Sleepy will be fine for a bit..." She let her meaning trail off and let out a surprised gasp when Fitz turned and pulled her to him. He kissed her, pulling her closer and she wrapped her arms around him. He backed her into the lab table, his hands on her waist, and his lips moved to her neck. She let out an involuntary moan as he kissed the hollow of her neck, she met his gaze and was moved by the love that shown in his eyes.

"Leo..." She whispered, her heart was racing in anticipation.

"Jemma..."He whispered back to her, his fingers moving to her blouse buttons, she nodded slowly. He undid the buttons and his hands moved to her bare stomach, she felt like her skin was on fire, she didn't know why they hadn't done this before.

"Hey Jemma...oh nevermind." Skye's voice broke through the haze around them, their friend had turned around and walked out of the lab as silently as she had entered. She pulled back and gave him an apologetic smile, he looked at her with desire still in his eyes,

"We could continue this later, in my bunk." She reminded him, he nodded before helping her button up her blouse. She squeezed his hand,

"You are a good kisser by the way." She told him, blushing at him.

"You are too Jemma." He whispered, smiling at her, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear.

* * *

She laughed at Grant's expression, she was showing him the footage she had found of his training at SHIELD, when he had been shown how to interrogate someone by Natasha.

"How did you find this?" He asked, flinching when she laughed at his behavior.

"They gave me access to everything, when they took off my internet nanny, a perk of saving AC's life." Skye reminded him,

"I think it was more for your skills then, just a reward, you can do anything with your skills. They know that, so they provided you with the tools to stop HYDRA before they came into the light. Now we can take them down." He kissed her forehead, reminding her that he was beside her, where he belonged. Their plan to have him destroy HYDRA from the inside was over, it was probably selfish that she was happy about that, but with him by her side she knew they would rebuild SHIELD stronger then ever. She leaned into his arms and let him comfort her, they were together and their family was safe. She looked over towards the command center, where May and Coulson were sitting close together, Clint and Natasha were sitting opposite of them. May absently adjusting Coulson's tie, her mask dropped completely, she nudged Grant.

"Look." She pointed to them,

"I knew it," He told her, she looked at him in surprise. "After the incident in Italy, we were back here trying to find you and Fitzsimmons, May had been tortured and needed medical assistance. I offered but Coulson shut me down, I didn't know why until I saw them together, they have something special...not all that different from what we have."

"It would have been nice of you to tell me that...I could have set them up...Ages ago!" She teased, her eyes full of mischief.

"Well, it would have been slightly awkward. All things considered, don't you think?" He teased her right back, she laughed.

"I knew you couldn't be a robot, that body is too delicious." She whispered the last part in his ear, causing him to blush.

"I keep hearing you call him a robot. What is that all about?" Tony's voice made her look up and smile,

"He was like a robot when we met, he didn't even smile."

"I was trained to be that way, besides someone had to be able to say no to you. Other then May, since you had Coulson wrapped around your finger." He retorted, she saw Tony watching them amused.

"So how did you end up calling Phil, Dad?"

"He's always treated me like his little girl, so it became a joke that he was our dad, and May's our mom. Family is important, afterall." She told Tony in a knowing tone.

"Oh, I walked in on Fitzsimmons." She told Grant as they settled down to play Battleship, Tony wanted to play the winner, so they had agreed to go first. Grant spit out his drink,

"In the lab?" He looked like he wanted to pretend he didn't hear it,

"Yup." She told him popping the 'p' and laughing. Tony instantly broke out in laughter as the couple in question hurried into the room.

"Skye..."Jemma said quickly, not seeing the others in the room.

"It wasn't what it looked like..." Fitz started, before they noticed Grant and Tony. They suddenly found the floor and ceiling very interesting.

"Don't worry I won't spill the beans to A.C. and May, none of us will." She teased, seeing Jemma blushing.

"Next time take it to the bunks, okay? We use that lab too." Grant mumbled, before Jemma's eyes locked on him and a knowing look crossed her face.

"You two wouldn't know anything about how Skye's button ended up in the shower drain would you?" She saw the flicker of emotion just a second before he schooled his features into a mask of indifference.

"Because I can't seem to find your jeans, Skye and I know they are your favorites."

"So hacker and robot did the 'Tango' in the shower," Tony said amusement coloring his voice, "Phil, I want to join your team again."

"Stark...I can make Jarvis spill every single one of Pepper's birthday surprises to her." She threatened softly, meeting his eyes.

"I actually believe you would...wait until you all come to Stark Towers...I have a lab you will love, all the best toys."

"I cannot wait to meet Dr. Banner, he is a genius." Jemma said excitedly, looking at Fitz who nodded,

"His work can help us develop all those projects we put off."

"How about we get to New York first? Then, we can spread out all over Stark's Penthouse." Coulson said as he walked over to them.

"Grant, G4." She teased, knowing he was a predictable as ever, until he smiled.

"Miss." She looked at him in shock,

"That never happens." He smiled at her, leaning closer to her.

"I have learned many things from you, and I know that you believe I always pick G4, so I changed it up a bit."

"Nice move, Grant." She teased,

"Back to work, we are nearing New York airspace." May said as she moved towards the cockpit.

"You might want to buckle up, Stark." She laughed when Grant winked at her, his hand reaching out for hers as they waited for May to finish landing the BUS. This was it, after they did this everything changed forever, she felt the weight of her badge in her pocket. She had everything she had ever wanted now, a family and her purpose in life, HYDRA wouldn't take it all away. She knew they wouldn't let the bad guys win, it took her a minute to hear the others taking around her.

"SKYE!" Coulson's voice was panicked, she looked at him in confusion.

"What's up, Dad?" She wondered if there was something evil behind her, looking back she didn't see anything.

"She's glowing." Natasha whispered, she looked down at herself, she was glowing a soft green color.

"So what the Hell just happened?" She asked, looking at them in confusion.

"What were you thinking about?" Grant asked her, their hands were still intwined.

"Our home and our family." She told him, "How we can't let them win."

"Thats what activates your powers." Tony added in awe,

"Love and Family." She whispered,

"It fits you...everything that means the most to you. Who you are at your core." Grant told her, leaning in to kiss her forehead, the glow didn't affect him at all.

"We are landing in five minutes, prepare for descent."

"We will have Bruce look you over." Tony reassured her, smiling at her. She nodded, this was what she had been worried about, that she couldn't control her unknown powers.

* * *

(Not my best but, I wanted it up before tonight's episode...SKYEWARD is ENDGAME! Anyway we will know whats going down by the time tonight is over, second season can't come soon enough.)


	9. Hello Nicky

So that ending sucked, well I am going to finish this story and Skye and Grant will get their Happy Ever After. So on to our Team and their first appearance in Stark Towers.

* * *

"Welcome home Mr. Stark." JARVIS announced, as they were leaving the hangar and following Tony into the building.

"Where's Pepper?" Tony asked much to the others amusement,

"In the kitchen with Dr. Banner, shall I tell her you have arrived?"

"No, I want to surprise her." Tony replied as they crowded into the elevator. Clint laughed at the impatient look on his face,

"You didn't tell her we were coming?"

"Not much of a chance to, considering everything we have learned on the flight here." There was a not so subtle nudge in her direction, she and Grant were walking at the back and their fingers were interlocked.

"So not subtle, I know you just wanted to get home to your girl." She retorted, sticking her tongue out at them.

"Behave Children." Coulson reminded them, while May shot them amused looks from his side. She watched them closely, noticing that they were practically one person now, and Grant's chuckle startled her.

"Told you so."

"Robot, you have got to learn to tell me these things." She shot him a crooked grin and pulled him faster through the hallway as they reached the floor and everyone piled out. She noticed Fitzsimmons gaping at the lab, she was more interested in watching Tony greet Pepper. It was sweet and she felt the smile form on her lips,

"Pepper, I brought you a gift." Tony said gesturing towards them, Pepper turned around and her eyes glistened with tears.

"Phil?" Pepper asked, before crossing the room and hugging Coulson.

"Hello, Pepper." Coulson said, hugging her back. After a few minutes they parted and Pepper slapped his shoulder.

"We buried you, don't ever do this to us again, you understand?"

"I have no intention of dying again, anytime soon." Coulson promised, Pepper seemed to accept that and looked at the rest of them. Banner joined them and nodded at Coulson,

"Nice to see you again, Phil."

"That's Dr. Banner." Fitz muttered, grabbing Jemma's hand excitedly.

"He's brilliant." Jemma replied, Tony gestured for them to sit and make themselves comfortable. Leading Grant and Fitzsimmons to the couches and settling in, Coulson and May sat at the table. Clint and Natasha disappeared to do something, giving her another chance to look around the room. It wasn't what she had ever believed it would look like, he had been a popular playboy before Pepper and him had become a couple, so she was thinking there would be some traces of that life. But nothing stood out, there were several pieces of art on the walls and she would bet Pepper had picked them out.

"The lovely young couple sitting next to the science twins, is Agent Ward and Skye their hacker. Then you have the lovely Dr. Simmons and Agent Fitz who is an engineer." Tony said, gesturing towards them.  
"Welcome to our home." Pepper greeted them kindly, she smiled and waved her hand in response.

"Thank You Miss Potts." Grant told her,

"When you get a moment we have a very uncooperative guest on the BUS." Natasha informed them, a smirk on her lips as she and Clint rejoined them.

"A prisoner?" Bruce asked amused, Clint nodded and sat on one of the bar stools.

"HYDRA?"

"Yes, and he might need some more persuasion to spill his pathetic guts." Natasha's voice made her blood run cold, Grant's arm tightened around her, offering her comfort.

"The way you say that, makes every normal person cringe." Tony told her affectionately. Natasha shot him a look, baring her teeth playfully.

"So any word from Cap?" Tony directed the question to Pepper and Bruce, who shook their heads.

"Nothing yet, Hill has been checking the feeds from your office." Pepper told him, worry written on her face.

"He's Captain America, he will be fine." Clint offered, trying to reassure them, she watched the Avengers closely seeing how worried they were.

"Talking about me?" Steve said, as he entered the room. The sounds of relief filled the room.

"JARVIS!" Tony bellowed, his voice betraying his irritation at the AI.

"I'm sorry sir, Miss Hill ordered me to keep his arrival silent and all video footage blank." He informed them,

"Cap, we brought you presents." Clint cut in, stealing Tony's thunder.

"What?" Steve asked confused, Tony pointed to Coulson.

"Agent Coulson?" Steve's eyes widened in surprise.

"Captain." Coulson greeted, standing up and crossing to shake his hand.

"Call me Steve, sir. You earned it." To Coulson's surprise Steve hugged him. "I'm glad to see you alive, we need your help."

"Well that's what we are here for. How can we help?"

"You can start by telling me what the Hell happened to the BUS." Fury's voice sounded from the speakers and May laughed,

"You owe me twenty bucks, Phil."

"I was sure that he would show up in person." Coulson replied, handing her a twenty.

"When you are done betting on my demise, meet me in the conference room. Stark, you have JARVIS set to black out all this correct?"

"Yes, Nicky." Tony quipped,

"Stark." Fury's voice was tense and he apparently didn't find it as funny as Tony.

"Pepper, can you wrangle the children?" Maria's voice cut over Fury's and there were several complaints of "We are not children." Before they heard the way it sounded and groaned.

"Come on, time for the Director to fill us in on what we missed." May ordered, leading the way. With a sigh, she pulled Grant up with her. They followed May and Coulson into the conference room, where Fury and Hill stood side by side at the head of the table. It amused her when she watched the Avengers sit on one side and her team settled on the other side.

"Now that we are all here, I understand you have Garrett in custody."

"Yes we do, Clint and Natasha spent yesterday questioning him."

"Did you get anything?" Fury asked pointedly,

"Not yet." Clint replied,

"We have another idea." Bruce suggested calmly.

"There is two people we know that could get us the answers we need." Natasha suggested, her eyes meeting Maria's.

"Neither of them should know SHIELD existed, Damn Wolverine had to tell that wife of his and his boss." Fury muttered,

"It's worth a shot, with the exception of Wolverine none of them are associated with SHIELD, I'm sure the school would love to visit Stark Tower." Coulson agreed, she looked at them in confusion before finally asking what she wanted to know.

"Do you mean Xaiver's school?" Several pairs of eyes looked at her in shock and wonder, she shrugged nonchalantly.

"How did you know about them?" Coulson asked quickly.

"Better question, how much do you know?" Fury's eye was locked on her and she was proud she didn't flinch.

"That its a safe place for Special Kids, the kind that would be on SHIELD's radar, and the Governments."

"That is the SHIELD official story. Something tells me you know more." Fury waited her out, with a sigh she continued.

"So I know a few of his students, they came through LA a few years back. For a vacation, things got a little heated at the beach and I saw them using their abilities. So instead of them erasing my memory, I deleted all the images of them ever being there. Met this Wolverine guy, he wasn't the fuzzy kind, but he was protective of those kids."

"Which ones do you know?" Maria asked,

"Now with all due respect we both know I am not telling you their names. Its not that I don't trust you, but I made a promise."

"Contact them, tell them that Logan needs to pay his old friends a visit." Fury demanded, she was struck by an idea.

"How about Grant and I go in person? My friends can get us a meeting with The Professor and I can explain everything." She offered, the look on Tony's face told her that he was impressed with her connections.

"I don't take orders from consultants." Fury mumbled, until Maria offered her opinion.

"That would work, we wouldn't be caught in public and this will get us closer then just pushing our way inside."

"Fine, you have two days to get in contact with your friends and set up a meeting. Stark will loan you a car, you two will get to that school and convince the professor to meet with us."

"Sure thing, Nicky." She quipped, the silence was broken by Tony and Clint who broke into laughter at her nickname.

"Coulson." Fury said sternly. Coulson looked at her and winked.

"Sorry sir, brought her on because she doesn't think like us."

"Told you she was a risk."

"One that paid off, I believe you told me the same about Natasha, and May."

"I was not a risk!" May scolded, glaring at Fury.

"Back to business. Everyone get some food and then bed. Tomorrow we start to rebuild SHIELD." Maria ordered dismissing them all. She pulled Grant and Fitzsimmons out of the room with her, leaving the adults to talk over their issues, she had seen the tension between them. She almost laughed when Steve's voice raised, echoing down the hallway.

"Dinner, should we order pizza or Chinese?" Fitz asked as they settled back in the living room, she was happy that she would get to see Kitty and Marie again. Maybe Bobby and John were still at the school too. They decided on pizza and ordered it quickly, while they waited she and Simmons teased the boys and enjoyed the peace of being safe.

* * *

(So here we go, couldn't resist the X-Men crossover. It would be so much easier if they used The Professor or Jean to figure out who was HYDRA and who wasn't. Plus the added bonus of the potential crossovers. Anyway let me know if you like the idea of them crossing into our SHIELD universe.)


	10. Complications Begin

This time we check in with our older team and see Garrett's twisted plan revealed. Enjoy.

* * *

"Your girl knows a few of the X-Men." Fury stated after the rest of the younger agents left the room. He met the look with one of his own,

"I didn't know, Sir."

"It actually makes sense that she would know them, I remember hearing about an incident about four years ago. There was a young girl named Mary who stated that she hadn't seen anything strange other then the four men who she said looked like they were on drugs." May added, a smile on her face. He knew she was thinking that if Skye had called in some X help they wouldn't have been able to get to her.

"Something tells me that Xavier won't be too happy with us." Tony stated,

"The only person we should be very worried about is Wolverine, he is very protective of his and Ororo's kids." Bruce added a rueful look on his face.

"Have you and this guy met before, Bruce?" Clint asked putting his feet on the chair in front of him. Bruce looked embarassed and nodded.

"Yes, once in Canada. Although to be fair he met the other guy first. I had just tried to end my suffering and ended up wondering around in Hulk form for a few weeks. Fury sent him to talk me down or take me out..."

"He survived you in Hulk mode?" Tony asked wonder clear in his voice.

"Yes, now back to the mission at hand."

"Speaking of the mission, is it wise to send Skye with Ward?" Natasha met his eyes as she asked the question, knowing he didn't apperciate being questioned.

"They are similar to Barton and yourself, try to seperate them and it won't end well."

"Can you have a team where there isn't romantic entanglements?"

"Where's the fun in that?" Clint teased, his arm snaking around Natasha's waist. Tony rolled his eyes and Steve cleared his throat.

"I understand Natasha and Clint's relationship, but if I'm not mistaken Ward is her Supervising Officer and isn't there rules against that?"

"When SHIELD was running and not labeled a terrorist organization, yes. But we are rebuilding a newer and better SHIELD."

"One that allows those kind of relationships?" Steve asked incredously, he wanted to roll his eyes even if he was his idol.

"The world has changed, these relationships will be allowed on a case by case basis, if it starts to effect either person in an undesirable way we will dissolve it. Until that point however the less we try to control their romantic lives the better off we will be." He heard snickers from Tony and Clint which he ignored. Turning his attention to Fury and Hill.

"Skye will have the best possible backup and defense with Agent Ward there." May defended them like a mama bear, the other men backed off quickly.

"It's settled then, we will meet in the afternoon to discuss anything last minute before they leave. Hill, feel like joining me on a visit to Garrett?"

"It would be my pleasure." He noticed everyone except Natasha flinched slightly at her tone.

"Dismissed." Fury ordered, before leaving with Hill. He looked at his friends and relaxed knowing that they had the best back up he could ask for.

"I heard JARVIS announce the pizza delivery about twenty minutes ago. I hope the kids saved us some." Tony announced hopefully.

"I just hope that Fitzsimmons hasn't discovered the lab yet." May muttered, his arm went around her waist and pulled her close to him.

"I'm sure Grant made them order enough for all of us." He responded.

"Of course we saved you some." Jemma told him affectionately,

"It seemed like Skye and Grant only ate two pieces before she fell asleep in his arms." Fitz gestured to the other room where Grant was stretched out with Skye tucked into his arms, both of them sound asleep. May took his phone out of his pocket and snapped a picture,

"Skye, will be mad if we don't take one." May said as an explaination, handing his phone back to him and snatching a piece of pizza. They sat at the table, talking in low voices to keep from waking the other two.

"Bruce, Skye is unique." Tony explained meeting his approving gaze,

"She seems like it, her gift must be her ability to inspire love where ever she is." Bruce said not catching on yet, a sign that he hadn't been sleeping much either.

"No, she is Very Special. Our kind of Special." Natasha explained, Bruce's eyes widened.

"She has gifts then? What are they?" Bruce asked respectfully, although his tone had shifted to excited at the mention of her powers.

"We aren't sure yet, hoped that maybe you could assist Fitzsimmons in testing her blood and seeing if anything here can help us figure it out." He looked at Bruce who nodded quickly,

"Of course, bring her by tomorrow and I will see what we can discover together."

"Alright we need to get those two a room and ourselves to bed. Pepper?"

"The bedrooms on this floor are all empty, we have the next floor for the team, Tony and I have the Penthouse." Pepper led them to four rooms that she gestured to,

"We'll share." Melinda said, meeting his eyes.

"Us too, after the last few days." Jemma started,

"We have been sleeping in one bunk." Fitz explained, a hint of red covering his ears.

"I'll wake Grant and have him move Skye and himself into a room. We both know she sleeps next to him every night anyway." Melinda crossed back to where they slept and tapped Grant's shoulder gently, his eyes flew open as he shifted Skye behind him instinctively.

"It's May." Skye's voice stated sleepily, her eyes hadn't opened and she appeared to be asleep. "She wants us to move to a bed, relax Grant."

"I see that now, Rookie." Grant teased, relaxing a bit.

"Shush, sleeping." Skye muttered curling into him, Grant picked her up and carried her to the hallway, intent on carrying her into the bedroom. Grant winced as he stepped into the hallway and Skye's hand drifted to his ribs, the same ones Garrett had broken, which probably hurt still. She smiled and they watched in shock as her hand glowed green before fading out. "Fixed you, Robot."

"Sleep Skye." Melinda said pressing her lips to Skye's forehead and brushing the hair out of her eyes. Grant passed them to settle her in the bed, any trace of his pain seemingly gone. He met Grant's gaze and gestured that they would look at him in the morning, since Skye hadn't let go of his arm. He closed the door and turned to see Bruce's look of wonder,

"She really is special." Bruce whispered, Melinda nodded stiffly.

"She's also our daughter, and I am very dangerous when crossed." There was a threat that rang clear across the room, and Tony flinched slightly.

"She's safe here, Mel. They wouldn't hurt her." He said trying to calm her down.

"Just making myself clear, so there are no misunderstandings."

"Perfectly clear, May." Natasha nodded respectfully, there was no tension in the younger woman's body, which made Melinda smile.

"Honestly, I doubt that anyone could get past Ward." Fitz stated as he and Jemma said goodnight to the Avengers and Pepper. With a smile he directed Melinda to the room and offered a shrug to them in apology, before following her inside. Melinda sat on the bed, amusement on her face, he laughed and moved to change his clothes. Before admiring her body as she moved and slipped his shirt over her head,

"Goodnight, Phil." She whispered as she curled up next to him.

"Goodnight, Mel." He replied pressing a kiss to her hair, and closing his eyes.

* * *

She had never seen Fury so angry, he practically vibrated with anger. Not that she blamed him, she wasn't too thrilled about Garrett's betrayal, it rocked their support system. When it was revealed that Pierce was part of HYRDA, along with Sitwell, she had felt her world shift.

"Maria?" Garrett's voice said her name in a caress, she shot him a glare,

"You don't get to call me that anymore, it's Deputy Director Hill to you traitor." He looked like shit, a very bloody rag was tied around his knee, she wondered who had shot him. His face was beaten and bruised, she would bet it was May. Fury let the door slam behind them, his face a mask of indifference, before he sat at the table across from where Garrett was chained.

"So HYDRA?" It wasn't a question, more of a statement, it also sent chills down her spine.

"You always told us that one man could be something bigger."

"A Part...A part of something bigger. Tell me this HYDRA stint isn't because you misunderstood my damn 'One Man' speech."

"That's what it was? Huh?" Garrett's voice was mocking and she wanted to smack it right out of him.

"Phil got it, why couldn't you?"

"The golden boy, tell me why you moved Heaven and Earth to save his life but left me to fight my way out with my side taped up with duct tape?"

"So it's a jealousy thing then?" Fury's voice was calm and she could hear the undertone of amusement.

"HYDRA is the better option, loyalty is rewarded."

"I'm sure Grant would agree, you broke his ribs, but that isn't anything new is it?"

"The boy needed direction."

"He didn't need more abuse you sick son of a bitch." She spat, remembering the haunted look she had seen on Grant Ward's face when he informed Coulson of the truth behind Garrett. Garrett grinned up at her,

"He did everything I told him, for the last 15 years, he has been my puppet, then Coulson brought that pretty little hacker onto the team. She was a unknown variable, turned that kid's world upside down, should have sent a kill order that first week."

"You would have blown your cover." Fury reminded him,

"Would have been worth it to kill that little alien bitch."

"Watch your language, John." She ground out, her temper was rising with every mention of what he had done to the young woman, worse what he was planning on making Grant do.

"Sorry my hearing must be messed up because of my visit earlier with the Widow and Hawk." Garrett told her, she smiled amused at his pain.

"She has better plans for you, maybe save yourself a little trouble and spill your slimey guts now?" She baited, he glared at her.

"Nice try Maria."

"This is a personal gift from Fitzsimmons." Fury held up a tiny button, it almost looked like a toy. With a silent glare he pressed the button and Garrett started to convulse violently.

"Seems like they didn't like you trying to kill their friend. Wonder what will happen if I turn it on high?" Fury asked, a grim look on his face, she knew that later he would need to talk about this. She wasn't going to pretend that she wouldn't seek his comfort later, they had spent many long nights together, knowing there was a short list of people both of them could trust. Their romance was a secret, even from Phil and Melinda, not from shame but for preservation. Many people would react similar to the way Steve had earlier to Skye's relationship with Ward. Her attention was brought back to Garrett who was gasping for breath, she nodded and stepped closer.

"Ready to talk yet?"

"Eye candy, always the pretty ones for you Nick."

"I'll be sure to tell Widow that you called her eye candy."

"You won't let her kill me, you need me to talk first."

"Not really, we have Ward. Everyone knows he is you protege, he could go back under cover and say you died in action."

"They won't believe him," Garrett was clearly gasping at straws, she went for the kill.

"Raina likes his vision better anyway, Quinn is only here for the money and power."

"Seems like they would do anything he asked, after all unless you get medical attention by morning, you will be dead anyway." Fury added,

"Pierce is in on this, Sitwell and several levels of your beloved agents."

"Not something new, we know all that already."

"I don't have anything else to tell you. Except that I'm not the..." Garrett's voice was cut off as his mouth filled with cyanide, he had been searched for a pill or removable tooth, the white foam filled his mouth and she groaned.

"He's not the Clairvoyant, so who is it?"

"Nothing we can do here now, seal the room and we will bury him tomorrow." Fury held his hand out to her and their fingers locked together.

"Pity he couldn't tell us more." She muttered leaning into his arms, which tightened around her waist.

"Phil's team is on it, lets go home." She walked next to him, not touching as they left the BUS, and left in their SUV.

* * *

(So what do you think? Who from X-Men should they run into at the mansion, besides the Professor and her friends? Do you like the Fury/Hill couple?)


End file.
